Canopy Bed

So I did find a photo I took of an update to our master bedroom after we changed paint colors:

I suspect I didn't post this photo because...it's terrible!  I must have had water spots on the lens of my camera. The photo is an odd angle. The purple pillow looks VERY bright and shiny. The paint is washed out by the flash on the camera. So I see why I didn't post it.  The others in the folder this is stored in aren't much better. 

So let's take a step back for a moment.  Once upon a time, I was a little girl in the 70's. And what I wanted more than anything else was a Holly Hobby canopy bed. My mom bought me a bedspread and decorated my room, but alas, no canopy bed.  

And in the days of internet wonderfullness, I even managed to find the actual print that was on my bed as a child.

I think this clearly explains my complete aversion to pink in my adult life. This is the fabric that my bed set was made from. I had red-orange shag carpet that matched her hair. My walls were pink and my furniture was painted green. And of course, there were matching drapes. 

I can't even contemplate how this fabric would have looked on a canopy bed...

Ok, let's fast forward to TODAY after my trip to Ikea to swap out my drapes:

<sigh> I love it. Although the quilt is washed out in this photo. The colors are soft. But in real life, they're not quite this muted.

And we have discovered that our old bed frame, which started it's life as a queen size bed frame, and was expanded to accommodate our king size mattress, didn't actually fit our king mattress. There was always a slight hump in the middle of the bed. It wasn't bad and really, after four years, we really didn't notice it. Until we put the mattress in this bed. And oh my goodness, we are in bed heaven!

You can also see in this photo the infamous 'wall that was purple'. It's the only wall in the bedroom that has the standard ceiling height. It was a deep, beautiful purple. And as I mentioned, we loved it. But we love the feel of this even better.

New drapes. Pardon the fact that I haven't hemmed them yet!

So eventually, I'll need new lamps. I found some at Hobby Lobby I really like, but I need to wait for them to go on sale. Until then, these work fine.

We moved my desk into the living room. The new bed is just big enough that it seemed like we suddenly had too much furniture in our bedroom. So here's a parting shot of Hazel, who's has claimed my desk as her new sleeping spot:

30 Day Challenge Reveal!

OK, I passed the deadline for the 30 Day Challenge. And ultimately, I'm OK with that since this is a project I'm going to cross off my list (for now...more on that later).

Today we started here:

Yep, except for putting my sewing table back in, nothing had been done in a month. My reality is I have four kids and The Builder has been working nights. Not conducive to completing projects. But I couldn't let another weekend pass without making the final push, and I'm so glad we did!

This is the hook of death. The Builder calls it the cranium buster. Either term works well. It was wedged in between the new dresser and the new bookshelf. It left an awkward space and if you happened to lean over to put a book or magazine away on the shelf, I had a bad habit of almost knocking myself out! I briefly debated leaving it there in case I ever wanted to put that low bar back in. However I have two bars still in place and the option of putting back the third one above the sewing table. I'm never going to use this fourth bar. So out it came!

We ended up with this lovely painted wall with no cranium busters:

(side note, I have double closet doors and I opened the one that is always closed so I could take a better photo - and discovered I think I like using this closet door better. Go figure). The other side of the closet also has a long bar, so as you can see, plenty of room! If you're trying to picture where the cranium buster is, look above two feet below the lower of the two shelves and smack in the middle of that newly painted wall on the far right. Yep, that's the killer spot.

At this point, I was pretty darn pleased with what I was seeing!

The Builder was really ready to stop at this point in the day. He did the last bit of painting during half time (it was NOT a good game!). But there is one thing that is really, really missing. The lights that I bought to mount on that bottom shelf for better lighting at my sewing table. I bought them on my second trip to Ikea and I really need them. The chandelier is pretty, but not as bright as I actually need for task work. Lucky for me, I think The Builder just wants me to quit complaining about this closet, so he very patiently wired them up for me:

I love them!!  This took a bit more patience for The Builder because the directions are minimal on install these at best. It also involved a Home Depot run to get the right screws (it didn't come with screws to install them!) and figuring out why they were flickering and being finicky. Turns out one of the wires was stapled too tight and was pinching the wire. Once he figured that out, they lit up beautifully!

Here is the 95% finished project:

<sigh> I love it! It is exactly what I was picturing in my head when I started this project. I have my space back to sew, my clothes are easy to find again, I've gained storage (a ton of storage) and it reflects me! I am very thankful that The Builder is happy with his little 2 foot space for his clothes. No worries, he has a nice large dresser that he uses for most of his things. And that he has no issues with a girly closet. I think he's happier that my crap stuff isn't all over the bedroom when I want to sew, lol.

And then, when I posted this photo, I realized there was still something missing....

For me, a room isn't really complete until it has an E somewhere in it!  (yes, it's like being at Disneyland - only instead of looking for hidden Mickey's, you look for hidden E's - it's just my thing). The Builder bought me this one when we first moved to TX. It's been in my bathroom, but I always knew that I hadn't found the right spot for it. But next to the only painting I've ever painted (and the only one I will ever paint) it's absolutely perfect!!

Here's a quick photo of the bookshelf I mentioned:

There won't really be an empty shelf once I pull out all my sewing books. Since I'm a self taught sewer, I've bought quite a few books over the years. It was one of the reasons I was insistent that I needed to find a place for a bookcase in the first place. All of these are within grabbing reach if I want to look up a technique. The chest of drawers is to the right of it. Nothing special to see there yet, just plain white drawers that match my closet perfectly.

So as I mentioned, I consider this project to be 95% done. And if I never did another thing to it, it would still be wonderful. But there are few more things I really want to get done!

1. The peg board needs to be painted and hung correctly. I don't want it to stay white. I want it to blend in and be less noticeable. Also its not mounted to the wall, it's just leaning. It works, but it's not finished.
2. I have a vinyl saying I want to put on the chest of drawers. I didn't have my settings right the first time I tried and I ruined the pink. I have black. It could be black. But I want it mimic the painting. So it needs to be pink.
3. I want to paint the bins black! I know, they're storage, they're practical, it shouldn't matter that they're blue. But every time I look at them, they irritate me! And I'd like them to both be the type that have the fold down door. Much more practical for searching for fabric then having to unstack them to rummage through.

Small things. Things that if they never get done, won't be the end of the world!

One final look at the before (in all it's shame!) and after:

Weekend 3

You weren't really expecting weekend 2, right?!

After a quick trip to San Antonio to work with my best friend on her wedding plans, it was back to getting my closet back in shape!

Here's a quick peak at a few of the updates:

One thing I hadn't really planned on was the rug.  And it's almost my favorite thing in here. I went back to Ikea to get some more magazine holders and the rug that had called to me the first time I was there was really yelling this time. Our master bedroom is all tile. Great in the summer, horrific in the winter. The light fixture is SO pretty, but not very bright.  The task lighting still needs to be installed on the new shelf that was install, as well as the rest of the painting

The Light!!!  Tell me this isn't better than an ugly bare bulb...also, you can see the second shelf we installed above the original one. It's really nice to not have boxes of patterns falling down around my head when I reach up to grab something. My only 'oopsie' is that I thought it had a draw string, since this closet doesn't have an on and off switch.  It doesn't. The Builder said he will install one. My goal is to have it done before Christmas!

The last sneak peak (forgive the terrible lighting, it was dark at this point and the 40 watt bulb doesn't produce the best light for photograph!). The shoe rack is only going to hold the shoes I wear most frequently. My reality is that I would truly need a bigger closet if I was going to have all my shoes on display or I would have to take out my sewing table. Since neither of those is going to happen, this is the best option for me.

Still to do:

1. Finish paining the closet
2. Install some floating shelves
3. paint the peg board gray to match the closet
4. Print my vinyl that goes on the small chest of drawers I bought
5. Install the task lighting under the back shelf

Weekend 1

It's the end of the first weekend and some progress has been made!  Not as much as I would have liked. I underestimated the amount of crap stuff that has accumulated in the closet over the past three years. 

I won't bore you with paint cut in photo's.  But here's a small peak at what was accomplished:

The color is the same as our master bedroom. I was going to go a shade lighter with my favorite Silver Screens but The Builder was concerned that it would look funny to have a lighter color when you open the sliding closet door. Eh, I think it would have been fine, but since he volunteered to help me paint, I decided to compromise. 

One thing we quickly discovered is that we wouldn't have anywhere to sleep if we emptied the entire closet into our bedroom. Oops. So I hung up a plastic tarp to protect my our clothes from any paint. The goal is now this weekend to finish painting the other quarter of the closet. This side of the closet has the least amount of stuff but has most of my clothes.

See the ugly bare light attached to the ceiling?  That will also be gone this weekend, to be replaced with the light I bought at Ikea last week.  Super excited to not have that ugly light bulb! I also think I'm going to need some task lighting under the shelf you see in the photo because that's where my sewing table goes. There has never been enough light in here and there are no widows for natural light (and yes, I asked my glazier husband if he would install one.  The answer was "maybe at some point" which might as well be a no, lol) so the extra task lighting would be helpful, but might take me past my budget.  

OK, this is looking a little more like it's supposed to! The additional shelf is really making a huge difference in my storage capabilities. This isn't exactly how it will be arranged, but it works for photo's. I bought a peg board to hang up my scissors and some other things. I have WAY more magazines than that and need to figure out a way to better organize them - a second trip to Ikea is definitely in order (but the budget!!!). I also want to tuck a small bookcase back in the corner behind the garment bag. I have a ton of sewing books as well. The painting is one I did with The Teen. The dress was Audrey Hepburn inspired and so it will remain as a bright pop of color in the closet, even if that's not ultimately where it ends up!

More to come!

30 Day Challenge

It's the last day of the month.  I'm still waiting on my boy's comforters to arrive. The shipping was free so I can't complain, but I'm itching to have them come in so I can pick out paint and get their room update done.

Because I'm impatient I have time on my hands, I decided to join the 30 Day Room Challenge. I knew that I needed a small project because:

1. I don't want something I can't finish quickly
2. I want to complete my boys bedroom as well
3. I don't want to spend a ton of money
4. I don't have time for another large project!!!!

So I chose my master bedroom walk in closet!

Yes, this is really the "room" I chose.  It also doubles as my sewing/craft space. It's also our "dump everything" closet. You know, when you're cleaning up the house in a rush and you 'need' to hide stuff you don't know where to put? Yep, that's my master closet. So aside from needing to de-clutter and toss some stuff, there simply isn't enough storage. So I've manage to cram it full of boxes and piles. And of course, that's not working. Here's my closet it all it's shame:

Up until Christmas, it was fairly organized. You can see boxes for my shoes, all my white hangers, and some storage bins on the shelves. But it was downhill from there.  My sewing machine is buried and I pull it out to use it on the dining room table when I need it. My craft supplies are piled willy-nilly.  It's a mess. That's the original paint color to.  Blah. I have bars to hang clothes that I don't want and I need more drawer space (The Builder keeps 90% of his clothes in the dresser in our bedroom).

I sort of have a plan!

I'd really, really love to build some custom storage, but my reality is, I don't have time (remember I still have a temporary vanity in the kids bathroom upstairs!)  I was at Ikea the other night to purchase the pendent light you see in the idea board above, when I saw that the Malm dresser was on sale. I realized the white dresser what exactly what I needed to copy one of my Pinterest inspirations:

I saw this at least a year ago and fell in love! However, it wasn't going to work anywhere in my home. But I pinned it. Because that's the point of finding things you like that you will most likely never use, right?! 

After going back to the original blogger's post, I found that she used a vinyl sticker.  I have seen them on eBay, but I think I want to do my own take on it.  You may have noticed the picture on the inspiration board. It's actually a poster. My thought is to use it in place of the vinyl sticker. Of course, The Builder thinks I should just buy the sticker on eBay. And I might. But I really think I want to personalize it just a bit! Although I may ultimately go with a black and white poster over a color one. We shall see.

My goal is break this down into weekend work:

Weekend 1: Paint the closet and hang the new light fixture (I'm giddy over this one, as I currently have a bare bulb attached to the ceiling with a pull string - don't even get me started!)

Weekend 2: Organize the sewing and craft supplies.  This closet is basically a big box for the most part, an the back wall has an outlet, which allowed me to put in my sewing table and set up my machine. The problem is that there isn't enough shelf space for all my stuff, so I need to get creative with storage.

Weekend 3: I will be out of town this weekend so I don't plan on any work getting done.

Weekend 4:  Complete the dresser update (this allows me to order the poster or vinyl sticker online this weekend and have time to get it shipped to work on during weekend 4!) and get my artwork hung up - I have an original art piece already completed for this one!

Weekend 5: (yep, 5 this month) Finish it all up!

Changing Directions

My bathroom and water woes?  Not even close to being done.  I called my homeowners insurance today, but after our deductible, we'd pretty much break even.  So right now, we're letting all the water dry out and then we'll do a more thorough examination to the water damage.

So, what to do in the mean time, right...?

There's no time like the present to finish updating our master bedroom!  You may remember this post.  I was really happy with this when we were done.  I still love most of the aspects of this room.  But the duvet is SUPER warm - too warm for anything other than winter.  And now that we own the home, I wanted to update the paint colors.

But.  I'm only revealing a sneak peak today.  I waited until it was dark to take photo's, which is always a mistake.  So rather than a bad room reveal, here's just a tease!

The chair is new (fabulous deal at Wayfair.com!) and I bought the coordinating fabric at Ikea to make the throw pillow.  There's a second pillow I made as well, that's going to go on my bed

My pillow isn't so bright in person.  It's a dark, plumy purple.  The inspiration pillow is $58 at Anthropologie. Yeah, even if it were to go to $20, it's unlikely I'd buy it.  I spent $3.50 on my fabric (and have plenty left over to make 1 or even two more pillow) and the pillow insert from Ikea was $5.  I did put a zipper in my cover, only so it could be washed, but you could easily skip that step if you're not comfortable inserting zippers.  You can find the instructions on Sew HomeGrown.

And to add to my master bedroom update, I've decided my creative work space (aka, my master closet) is due for an update too.  I haven't touched it since we moved in, but I'm in desperate need of organization solutions.  Another sneak peak:

The painting is mine.  As in I painted it.  The only painting you will ever see from me!  My painting is staying, despite the hot pink.  This room is going to get painted the same grey as the bedroom.  I don't care if it's hot pink (a color I detest) Or maybe a shade lighter.  

My sewing table is very important, but I could use better lighting.  What you can't see is the boxes of fabric shoved in the corner to the left.  Or the rows of clothes on each side.  Yeah, this space needs help...

Progress

So this weekend, I finally worked on our master bedroom!!  It's not, by any stretch of the imagination, done.  But I'm at about the half way point at the end of this weekend.  When you consider none of it was in place when the weekend started, this is good progress.

In the photo to the left, you can see the rugs that I got from Overstock.com.  As I mentioned, I'm thrilled with these rugs.  They're cushy when you step out of bed in the morning.  In the winter, I won't be stepping on icy cold floors either.  The rugs anchor nicely on each side of the bed and I really like the pattern.  

Can you see the owl on my chest of drawers?!  I LOVE this owl!  He was a treasure that was staring at me in a store window as I was waiting in a drive through line for lunch one day.  I'm not quite done with the floral arrangement that he's holding, so I'll save that for another day, but he's really darling.  

This photo is a little dark, but you can see the correlation between the bed and the TV.  The Builder and I love to watch TV in bed.  Our kids love to come pile in bed with us to watch TV.  It was the reason we upgraded to the king size recently.  There is a large blank space to the left of the TV that we haven't decided what to do with yet.  Currently, my luggage and extra pillows are sitting in the space.  Yeah, so I need to think about that space.  You might be noticing the...TV console...under the TV.  I use that word loosely.  It's a small TV stand that's stacked on top of a box and covered with a black curtain.  It houses are U-verse box, DVD player, a Wii, and the few DVD's we own that are not cartoons, lol.  We have it mounted to the wall and that's where it will be staying (because U-verse will charge me a fortune to move it!).  The Builder has a set of plans to make a real console.  But we have other building projects to complete first.  Ultimately, I'd like it done by Christmas.  We shall see.  Oh, and the fountain.  LOVE the fountain.  Hate that it's copper now and doesn't match.  I'm thinking about how to re-work that.  Our goal is to have a reading nook there, so the fountain may be headed back into the sun room.  But that's a project for next summer, so I'm not even ready to think that far ahead yet!

Ah.  Something I'm really please with.  This pillow.  The pillow form and fabric are from Ikea.  You may or may not be aware that you can get throw pillows dirt cheap at Ikea.  I swear I think I only paid $4 each for each pillow form. They were down in the curtain and fabric section at my Ikea.  They're listed as cushions but they're not something I would think of as cushy enough to want to sit on.  I bought the fabric my drapes are made of, which they sell by the yard.  This was a simple 20" square that I added a 5/8 seam allowance. I bought a yard of the fabric and I've only done the one cushion so far. I still have plenty for a second if I choose.  I did put a zipper on my pillow cover because I wanted to be able to launder it easily.  If you're not comfortable with inserting a zipper into your pillow cover, you could really skip it without issue.  I have cats and I get a lot of cat hair in my bedroom, so I wanted to be able to launder them regularly.  

So that's it for this weekend.  I still have more to do in the room and I have all the 'stuff' to do it, I just need to find the time!  The throw pillows look wimpy on the bed right now.  I still have several more to make including the pretty purple satin pillow.  I also have the crushed satin bed skirt to make (again, super easy project!) and I need to paint the bases on the lamp.  Right now they're a brushed bronze.  I love that finish, I really do.  Except nothing is my bedroom is a brushed bronze now .  It needs to be a brushed nickel to match all the other fixtures in the room.  A coat of spray paint should fix that and will be an easy fix.  I have a feeling that the room won't really looked finished to me until The Builder gets the TV console done.  But we have a big project coming up in the living room over Labor Day weekend, and I can't plan anything else until that one is done!

The Home Stretch

So.  I got a box of fabric in this week (and if you know me, this is really nothing new, but keep reading) and it has the fabrics for my throw pillows.  And my bed skirt.  I am THRILLED.  Seeing all the fabrics together, along with the duvet that is now on my bed and the curtains has me chomping at the bit to get the room DONE. Take a look at some of these divine pillows I grabbed from my Pinterest board:

Source: kohls.com via Elona on Pinterest

 
Isn't it lovely?!  This one I plan to duplicate exactly.  I just need to stop at Joann's to get some felt (what those circles look like they are made from to me).  Hmm, or Hobby Lobby, which is right next door to my work...isn't that a scary thought!  And now that I look at it, maybe it's actually linen circles...but those would unravel easily...have to give this one a little more thought.  But, I have the gray fabric and this pillow cover itself will be simple to duplicate (and it won't cost $45!!!!) I'm making them all removable for ease of laundering.





  And let's not forget about this darling pillow I found on Etsy: 

Source: etsy.com via Elona on Pinterest

  I was originally going to buy it because I love to support Etsy and independent vendors, but I really think the purple is the wrong shade for my room :(  It has more gray undertones than what I'm looking for.  All my purples have more of a blue undertone in my room.  I think I can duplicate this pillow.  I have a luscious, purple satin fabric I got in my shipment from fabric.com that I can use, it will just take some figuring out that pretty twist in the center that might be a bit challenging.

I would love to say I will be completing these updates this weekend.  I would really love to say that.  But I won't.  I'm going to the ASG Conference here in Houston this weekend (hooray!!!) and I have to get the rest of the shopping done for my kids for back to school.  We have a free sales tax weekend here in TX this weekend, and I will happily take the savings on the backpacks and additional items the kids still need for school :)  My goal though is to be completely done by the end of Labor Day Weekend....D.O.N.E.

STUCK!

So, I currently have 3.5 projects going, NONE of them done, and all driving me crazy.

My guest bathroom.  My goal was to have it done last month.  I finally got the frames up and the wall sconces and am VERY happy about this.  However, there is no artwork in the frames and the sconces are lacking candles.  I also need a rug around the toilet to help cut down on the hollow sound of the small room. Ugh.

The second unfinished room is my laundry room.  This one has a lot of work left to do.  We had another leak in the upstairs bathroom and the ceiling seam split again.  Double ugh!  So that has to be patched and fixed (at least we don't need all new drywall this time!).  We were meaning to buy a longer dryer cord so that we could put a longer folding counter in there.  This was necessitated last week when a power surge fried my outlet and dryer chord.  That is done (because a family of six can not go without a dryer!) but we haven't actually moved the stacked units over yet.  Which means we can't put up the counter our build the sorting units that are going underneath.  There's also no artwork or storage of any type in there right now. Sigh....

Then there's my master bedroom.  I'm actually making progress in this room!  

This is not the best photo of this rug.  In person it's lighter and very plush. It was exactly what I was looking for in my bedroom!  The entire downstairs of my home is tile.  In winter, that tile is very cold to step out onto in the morning.  It also means you track any dust or crumbs into the bed if you don't scrub your feet before you get into bed.  GROSS!  I looked at options for a big rug to go under the entire bed.  But a rug that large is expensive.  I bought two runners to go on each side of the bed and they work really well.  Ironically I saw this same idea on some show on HGTV, so I knew I was on the right track. :)  They were on sale at overstock.com this week and free shipping.  I had to get them!

Then there is my bedding.  I posted several options a few weeks ago, and I was pretty sure I was going to go with the ruffled looking option.  I've been debating going with a deep eggplant color, like the original inspiration.  But after looking at my room, and my dark furniture, I was concerned the room would end up looking too dark.  So my thought was the lighter, ruffled looking version (that was a fraction of the cost!) was going to be the best option.  I was hesitant though because the last comforter I bought online, while beautiful, was not at all soft!  The other night I was on ebay looking for something else when I came across a Vera Wang duvet cover.  It was lovely, and had one bid that seemed ridiculously low.  I checked Macy's web site.  I know what this duvet cover is selling for.  And this one is less than the one on the Walmart web site.  So I bid, expecting to be outbid instantly.  Surprisingly I wasn't!  And I ended up winning!  This is the only piece of bedding I'm going with from this collection.  I can't afford to buy any pieces from Macy's (seriously, this duvet retails for over $300 with NO shams, bed skirt, or anything else!) but I found some great pieces that will coordinate beautifully and I am beyond thrilled.  Then there are the accessories I scored at Marshall's on Friday!!  So serious headway in the room this week.  All that is left is the media consul (which has to be built), the duvet itself (can we say hello Ikea?) and throw pillows.  Lots of pretty throw pillows...

So I'm sure you're wondering what the .5 is in the 3.5 number.  That would be my master bathroom!  The Builder and I discussed that because the two rooms have no door or diver, they should flow into one another.  I already have the art pieces, but the shower curtain, towels, and some accessories, don't really coordinate with the new room colors.  I found these eggplant colored towels at World Market today and they are perfect!

Eggplant Towels

Casbah Towels

Again, the photo color is slightly off.  They're darker in person, like the eggplant color in the curtains in my bedroom.  And then I found these coordinating printed towels and I knew it would tie in perfectly with the artwork and decor I already have in the bathroom, as well as tie the two rooms together color wise.  But again, I'm not finished .  I found some fabulous curtains, but they weren't in my budget this week and I can only hope they'll still be there in two weeks when I figure my budget can afford them.  And I'm torn on the rugs.  The same tile that is in my bedroom is also in my bathroom (and kitchen, dining room, family room, etc.) and you really have to have rugs down when you get out of the shower or bath - which are are on opposite sides of the bathroom.  So do I go with black, which is practical, grey, which would add some contrast, or pull the eggplant color into the rugs as well?  Decisions decisions.  Here's what I ultimately chose for the shower curtain, which I think works much better with all the black and white decor.  I love the sparkle!  Plus it ties in the grey and the black and white.  I think the contrast in texture with the velour towels and sequins in the shower curtains works too.  Or I just watch to many design shows, lol...  Since this wasn't a room I set out to really change and it's part of the master bedroom, I'm counting it as half a room!

My goal is to have the master bedroom and bathroom put together by the end of the month.  Stay tuned!

Master Bedroom Dilema

When last we spoke of my master bedroom, the new King sized bed had been installed, and can I just say, it is amazingly comfortable.**Total side note here:  if you are contemplating a new bed, I can highly, highly recommend the iComfort series by Sealy.  It isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny, and all my lower back pain was gone after sleeping a week in this bed!!

So as I mentioned, we upgraded from a Queen to a King sized bed, which means all new bedding.  As you may recall, the master bedroom was primarily done.  We had bedding, drapes, furniture, even the art work.  So you would think I'd just find a similar comforter and bedding and be done, right? 

You would think wrong...

Ikea Curtains - the wall color isn't really this dark!

That was the original goal.  I even posted about it before the bed arrived.  But I found a pair of drapes at Ikea that I absolutely love.  They go with everything in the room, but change the total look of the room.  So if we're changing the look, lets make some other changes, right?  So the bed has been moved, the television has been moved (and mounted to the wall, yeah!) and all the furniture has been re-arranged.   And now I'm looking for the right duvet cover.  THAT is proving to be my Achilles heal.  In my head, I know what I want.  My color palette has changed to mocha (think froth on coffee!) grey, black, white, and plum.  I know the mocha color sounds off, but it's in the drapes and it's the color of my room, so it ends up working really well.  So I want a grey duvet and plum accent pillows.  But the shade of grey can't be too dark or too light.  It has to be just right .  Because too dark and the room looks heavy.  Too light and it will show every spot known to mankind (I'm sort of sympathizing with Goldilocks at this point...).  And I want a plum arm chair for the window, so the duvet has to be grey.  I've been to all my favorite haunts to look for the right duvet cover, but I haven't found it...yet.  But I will persevere!  

Here are some of the options that I'm considering.  The Inspiration is a beautiful plum colored duvet that I found at Bed Bath & Beyond.  However the price is WAY out of my budget(side note, who spends over $500 on bedding?!) and I think it's...too plum for my room.  


I really think I'm leaning towards option 1. This one I found online, so I can't touch it or feel it, but this time if I don't like it, I'll just send it back!  It's also a quarter of the cost of the one from BB&B, so it's a double bonus!  But the other two options are pretty too.  I just need to figure out what's going to look best with the curtains.

The New Bed

It has arrived.  The delivery men and The Builder set it up.  I have to say, no remorse as the old bed was carted out the door and put on the curb.  Now I'm working on updating my design board on Pinterest...!

Master Bedroom....Again

Today, The Builder and I went out and spent an obscene amount of money purchasing a new bed.  Why are beds SO expensive?!

The back story - We've been married 15 years this coming September, and our current bed is...15 years old this August!  He bought it for me as a wedding gift (I had a cheap double mattress with no box spring while we were dating which he refused to even contemplate sleeping on once we got married.  He had a queen sized waterbed that was not an option...) a month before we got married, and it's been our bed ever since.  About three years ago, we started realizing the bed wasn't quite as comfortable as it was when we bought it.  We were getting ready for The Move from California to Texas, and I was concerned that we would end up sleeping on the floor for a year if we didn't move our bed (The Move ate up all our savings!!) with us.  So it went in the moving truck.

You may or may not know, we've now moved three times in three years.  That was not the plan.  Including the move from CA, that stupid bed has been moved four times.  And it ways a TON!  To add insult to injury, neither of us sleep well on it anymore.  I realized this past week I can't even make it through the night without waking up.  So we started looking at beds.  My goal was to not buy one until we get back from vacation next month.  With this being Memorial Day weekend, beds are all on sale.  Don't ask me why.  I have no clue.  So with sales ad's in hand, we started researching beds.  And somehow we ended up buying one and it's being delivered on Monday.  HOORAY!!!

Except.

We upgraded to a King size bed.  Do you know what that means?  Not only did I spend an obscene amount of money but now I have to upgrade ALL our bed linens.  Including my comforter set. 

I should be saying 'oops'.  But honestly, after almost a year with our comforter, we have lost all love for it because it is SO scratchy!  I bought it online so we didn't get to "feel" the set prior to purchasing it.  I've purchased other comforters over the years online without issue.  This one, while it looks great, simply doesn't work for us.  We only have it on the bed when company is coming over or I'm taking photo's for something.  Otherwise it's wadded folded up in the corner.  Because we're a family who loves to pile on the bed, watch TV, tickle fights, even cuddle!  Thus the reason for the King size bed, and now, the new bedding!

Ideally, I'll find something that will work perfectly with what I already have.  That's the goal...

Master Bedroom Take 2

Here are some more quick updates.  I'm not 100% happy with the chest of drawers yet.  It looks very...bare.  And while I tend to think less is more, in this case, it just isn't.  I added my favorite vase back in, and my 3-wick candle, but it's not right.  I do really like how the artwork looks.  Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing with "E"s.  The floral print represents me, the guitar is my husband.  He really loved these pieces when I brought them home.  I've never put up guitar artwork in our master bedroom before.  I'd never really thought about it before, but when I found this one, it matched the color scheme in our bedroom so well, I knew I had to make it work.  But that chest of drawers. UGH!  I need to give that some more thought.

Our master bath.  I wasn't sure what direction to take with the master bath.  There is no door separating the bedroom from the bathroom, and the colors carry through.  I like that.  However my bedroom furniture is all black, and as you can see, the vanity's are white.  I wanted to put a little more continuity between the two rooms.  I found these tiles at Garden Ridge.  The E was clearance!!  $1.99 for the E.  The other tiles were $3.99 each.  I debated back and forth about putting them a little lower on the wall.  However, that's my jewelry box in the center, and I didn't want the lid, which flips up, hitting the tiles constantly.  So I opted to place them just above where it opens to.  I picked an "M" out for my husband, and again, he really liked it.   While I have always had a thing about E's (we have them scattered about the house like the hidden Mickey's at Disneyland!!) the M has never been a big deal to him.  But he really like this, so I'm happy that he's happy!

Can you stand one more picture of my beautiful nightstands?!  Just for humor's sake, I took photo's of what the sides of our bed looked like while he was finishing up the nightstands last weekend.  The photo to the far left is my side of the bed (yep, I sleep on the right, but just realized I put the photo on the left...sorry).  Notice my leaning box, very evident with the lamp that looks like it's about to fall off.  And where I charge my iPad at night (the phone rests on the box at night to be charge too).  The inside of my box is where I store my magazines.  I'm going to pick up some baskets soon, so they'll be stored on that bottom shelf of the nightstand, easily accessible!   The other picture is my husband's side of the bed.  Yikes!!!  There is quite the assortment of miscellaneous junk.  Now I won't lie:  the box that you see is now tucked next to my TV (which you'll notice I'm not posting any photo's of - that wall is completely undecorated and has 'stuff' that shouldn't be there, taking up space...like Christmas wrapping paper, ugh!) so there's still a little more to do in here.  But my amazing hubby is now going to build a console table for our TV, which will allow me to house my small collection of DVD's (currently stacked on our makeshift TV stand) and our TV components neatly and more importantly, out of sight!!  But the console and that wall with be another post altogether!

The Reveal!

My master bedroom.  I'm SO pleased with how it's turning out!!  These were quite a bit of work, and not a project for beginners, but I love how the nightstands turned out.  Of course, it didn't actually start out that way.  Do you see the photo of the sad, weathered looking nightstand?  That's what the ebony stain looked like.  Old weathered wood.  That's great if you have a rustic themed bedroom.  But I don't. And I didn't want that look. I knew I wanted the wood grain to show, but I wanted it to match my dresser, which is black.  With the wood grain showing.  So closed my eyes, bought some black spray paint, and hoped for the best.  And it worked!  You can see the step by step process in these photo's.  My husband is AMAZING and worked all weekend to help me get these finished up.  I say we.  He measured, cut, and built.  I sanded.  And I found the pattern.  So that should count, right?!

Now here are some shots from start to finish:

• The wood and the tools
• The unfinished product
• The wrong finish
• Perfection!

Weekend Plans

OK, so I know the Christmas weekend is over, but we have another long holiday weekend coming up for New Years, and I have plans to make a serious dent in finishing up those projects that make a house look put together!

You may remember when we first moved into this house back in August, I posted of picture of our bedroom after we hung the curtains.  I noted various little things in the room that needed to be finished.  Like a bed skirt.  And the right colored body pillow cover.  Lamps.  And nightstands.  

Nightstands are not a little thing I've come to discover.  Finding the right nightstands has become a quest.  I've looked at so many different options, it's enough to make my head spin!  I found a pair that would work at Ikea.  They were not my favorite as they had no storage, which I need for things like remote controls for the TV's and the magazines I like to peruse before bed.  Still, they would have held my lamp and my bottle of water that I like to have, and the small size would mean my husband I'd be less likely to have a lot of clutter on top of my table.  But what I really wanted for my nightstands is this. 

Isn't it pretty?!  I love the mirrored finish I've been seeing on furniture.  It has a certain retro look to it that really appeals to me.  But of course, this doesn't actually match my bedroom furniture.  It's a little small.  And the price...$229.99 if you don't by it on sale (currently on sale for $179.95), which is rather a lot for one nightstand.  Not to mention, I'm not a fan of the knobs.  I realize that's a simple update.  But really, if I'm going to spend that much on a nightstand, shouldn't the knobs be what I really want anyway?!  Sometimes it's really the little things that can make a girl happy!

OK, so clearly, I'm not going to buy these tables.  I can't justify $360 even on sale for two tables.  However, I was looking at some of the many blogs I enjoy reading, and someone posted the web site for this table, which I really, really like!  I like that it's wider.  This is a better fit for the space in my room. I like the option of the two baskets on the bottom.  I like that drawer isn't so narrow (something I didn't realize I liked until I saw this!).  I think the depth on this drawer is more user friendly!

Black Nickle Knob

Of course, there are some things I don't like.  My bedroom isn't rustic.  So that particular finish isn't going to work for me.  Same with the baskets.  And there is no mirrored finish on it.  So I discussed this with my hubby builder, Mike.  There were several things I'm going to do to customize and make them coordinate with my bedroom.  First, I'm going to do a black stain for the finish similar to my existing chest of drawers.  Also, I'm going to put a cabinet molding around the edge of the drawer so that Mike can fit the drawer front with a mirror. That will give some definition to the cabinet face, that I like in the Pier 1 nightstand, and add a touch of that vintage look that I love, but still blend well with my existing furniture.  I found some crystal looking knobs (they're acrylic) or these black nickle knobs (to the left) that I think will add to that vintage feel.  I think I'm going to have a mirrored table top as well.  I haven't found the right baskets to go under the table yet, but I think I'll wait until it's built so that I can try several options and get the one that will work best.  I hate to get my heart set on something now, and then find out that it won't work once it's built.  

Now the bonus to this project?  These will also work in my boys room!  They'll need the more rustic look to coordinate with the beds Mike already made them.  I already have the stain, so that's a bonus.  I have to decide if I want brushed nickel pulls or the brushed bronze.  I'm leaning towards the brushed bronze.  I had contemplated some trimmings for them as well, and then thought better of it.  My boys do not like decorative trimmings, lol....

I stopped in at Home Depot on Monday to check out the cost.  The total for two, not including the mirrors (Mike is a glazier - they break mirrors all the time and there are always scraps for projects like this!) is about $130...for TWO.  You can see how this would appeal to my frugal nature.  Custom pieces, exactly how I want, for less than the cost of one at Pier 1.  That even includes the cost of the Kreg jig, that I don't own.  So the two for my boys would have a final cost of $90.  That would be a grand total of $220 for 4 nightstands.  How can you beat that?!

The plans for this nightstand can be found at Ana White Homemaker  Enjoy her site, she had tons of neat projects for the DIY'er!

The Bedroom

I want to start this post by letting you know the bedroom is NOT done.  But I had enough requests to "see" some of the updates I've done, so here's a quick peak:

Before

After

Now some things that will change:  

1. the aqua body pillow will need to be replaced (have to have one for watching TV).   ****UPDATE**** I found a black microfiber pillowcase cover for the body pillow on eBay, so check one more thing off my to do list!  8/28/2011
2. The black bed skirt isn't on the bed yet, so you can see the mattress (which is going to be replaced in the months to come too).  When I find the box it's in, it will be on!  ***UPDATE*** found the bed skirt and it's now too!  Yeah, maybe new photo's to post soon!! 9/23/2011
3. End tables.  There are none right now.  We found a set at Ikea that match the headboard, which I love, but I have to go back and get them and the matching table that the TV will go on.   That's another photo...
4. Lamps - I realized after watching my favorite designer on TV that the scale of my lamps is all wrong.  I need bigger lamps, particularly now that I have higher ceilings.  ***UPDATE***  I found 2 fabulous lamps at Kirkland Home that are now in the room!!!  10/18/2011
5. Area rug - the tile is great now that it's summer, but when the colder months come, I'm going to want something warm and cozy under my feet.  So I'm shopping for the right rug...what that is, I don't yet...
6. Art work - I have none right now.  What I had before won't work plus the humidity got to them while they sat in the garage last year.  The frames will work, but I need new prints and probably mats.
7. Euro pillows - I have shams for them, might as well get one or two to complete the bed!

So, updates to come!